Australia, Meta initiates removal of under-16 accounts
After Canberra government clamps down on minors' use of social networking sites, stops Instagram, Facebook and Threads
Meta has already begun warning hundreds of thousands of Australian teenagers: in the coming days, Instagram, Facebook and Threads accounts attributable to users under 16 will be removed in advance of the formal launch of the ban, scheduled for 10 December.
From 4 December, the platform will begin to close the profiles of under-16s and block new registrations, in a race against time involving at least 350,000 users on Instagram and 150,000 on Facebook. Warnings are coming via email, text messages and in-app notifications, with a clear message: 'In accordance with Australian regulations users have two weeks to copy or delete' their data.
Messenger remains for now excluded from the ban. Meta is urging minors to save posts and conversations and leave a contact to reactivate an account after they turn 16. It will begin the removal process starting with the profiles it considers most likely to be in the name of under-16s, while recognising that the system may commit inaccuracies. A proportion of users could in fact be older, but still be affected by the ban. To contest the deactivation, users will have to undergo afacial scan via video selfie or present a scan of an official document.
The checks will be carried out by Yoti, a company specialising in artificial intelligence-based age estimates. The data, the company assures us, will not be retained. However, independent studies and the government's own test of the reliability of verification technologies have shown substantial margins of error: on average, almost one in seven 16-year-olds risks a false negative. It is not yet clear what way out will be available to users who, despite being over 16, are mistakenly blocked but are unable to show ID. Meta Australia's head of operations, Will Easton, acknowledged that the ban 'poses real challenges', but recalled the security tools the platform already has in place. Meta, he added, will continue to work with the authorities to reconcile child protection, privacy, and the social utility of its applications.
